This disclosure relates to thermoplastic materials, and in particular to films used for applications such as electrical and electronic insulation applications.
Polycarbonates are used in the manufacture of articles and components for a wide range of applications, from automotive parts to electronic appliances. Because of their beneficial properties such as transparency and impact resistance, polycarbonates have been widely used in applications where high flammability resistance is important. In some applications like extruded film used for electrical and electronic insulation applications, flammability resistance must be provided at thickness levels substantially below those utilized for most molded thermoplastic articles, as low as 0.05 millimeters (mm). Other properties such as good folding performance, voltage resistance, and heat resistance are also desirable for such applications. Although many polycarbonate compositions can provide beneficial combinations of the aforementioned properties, many known compositions have not been able to achieve desired levels of flammability resistance with very thin polycarbonate materials. There accordingly remains a need in the art for plastic films that provide beneficial combinations of properties for performance in demanding applications such as electrical insulation applications.